What is Lankford Grocery & Market?
Lankford Grocery & Market is a burger restaurant at 88 Dennis Street in Houston. It began as a fruit stand and family grocery and became a restaurant later. The business calls this its Midtown location.
The same family has run it since 1937.
How did it start?
Aubrey and Nona Lankford opened a fruit stand in 1937. In 1939 they moved to the current site and expanded into a family grocery store, according to Houstonia. They lived upstairs and ran the store downstairs. Visit The Woodlands places the original grocery in Houston’s Fourth Ward, also known as Freedmen’s Town.
When did it become a restaurant?
The couple’s daughter, Eydie Lankford Prior, took over in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Larger grocery chains were drawing customers away. In the early 1980s a regular asked her to make him a burger. The store became an icehouse serving burgers and beer, and later a full-service restaurant. Community Impact reports that it was a full-time restaurant by the 1990s.
The restaurant was cash-only until the COVID-19 pandemic. It then began taking all forms of payment and handling its own online orders.
The menu grew from basic burgers. Prior created the Firehouse Burger by experimenting with spices. A customer created the Grim burger, which tops a cheeseburger with bacon, enchiladas and chicken-fried steak.
Was it on television?
Yes. Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives featured the restaurant in 2009 and sampled the Firehouse Burger, according to Houstonia.
Does it have other locations?
Yes. A second location opened in 2023 off Bissonnet Street in Bellaire. A third opened on January 31, 2026, at 24 Waterway Avenue in The Woodlands.
Is it still open?
Yes. Southern Living reported in March 2026 that the restaurant was still operating and family-run, with no outside investors. The family is in its fourth generation running the business.